[Irish Pennant]

When I was a beginner (just a few years ago) I got a chord book and learned a handful of chords and practiced switching smoothly between them whilst building up the tips of my fingers. Then I took lessons. The first instructor was a blues musician and had a system where he would layout the 12 bar blues in a grid with each space being one bar, seemed to be a good method for the blues and for teaching the uneducated as well as for getting quick results. With his system you could learn to play the blues but not read music or learn theory. The second instructor was a finger style musician and by the time I went to him I was ready for him. Through him I was exposed to chord theory, music theory and a numbering system for playing scales. I've finally learned enough to know how little I know. I use what I learned from the second instructor almost every time I play and I believe it's a good foundation for me. If you're not getting what you think you need from your instructor then change instructors until you find one that's a good fit for where you're at in your playing.